Adam Thorpe

Translator, playwright, novelist and poet Adam Thorpe spoke about the perils, pains and satisfaction of translating one of the great French classics.

After producing three novels in as many years, Adam Thorpe accepted a Vintage commission to translate Flaubert's Madame Bovary with the idea that it would be a break from creating. Three exhausting years later, he was prepared to accept that literary translation is one of the hardest - if poorest paid - disciplines of all. Yet its addictive nature led him to accept a further commission to translate Zola's Thérèse Raquin.

In his lecture, entitled My Nights with Emma B, Adam discussed the translator's art and the delicate, meticulous process of translating Madame Bovary with the aim of bringing readers closer to the rhythms, tones and poetry of Flaubert’s original text.

The lecture was hosted by the University’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.